If you’ve spent much time at Chicago Union Station lately, you probably noticed a chilly reception. I don’t mean the Amtrak staff. It’s been downright cold inside the station itself. There’s good news, though: the station’s drafty waiting rooms could be much toastier this time next year. The 90-year-old Chicago Union Station will be getting a facelift later this year. Mayor Rahm Emanuel today announced Amtrak would pay $12 million...

Chicago is a city of neighborhoods. And while some neighborhoods resist change, others are swept away into the dustbin of history. Though real estate agents love to fudge with its boundaries, Lincoln Park remains Lincoln Park. Little Hell is now Cabrini Green. Chinatown moved from the Loop to the South Side. And in spite of being eviscerated twice in the name of progress, Little Italy still hangs on. But just as there once was...